4 megadeals that change the game

It's been a robust 12 months of mergers and buyouts. Here's an inside look at four high-profile deals from Facebook-WhatsApp to Warren Buffett's involvement with Heinz.

With the pace of mergers and acquisitions showing no signs of slowing down, megadeals like Facebook's recent $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp and last year's Warren Buffett-led buyout of Heinz for $23 billion are popping up across all industries.

In a Thomson Reuters analysis of announced transactions in the first quarter of 2014, M&A activity totaled $361 billion in the U.S. That's up 62 percent from last year, and the strongest year-to-date period of deal-making since 2007.

In the above video, CNBC analyzes four deals—from tech to ketchup to airlines to cable TV—and the important questions they raise for consumers, regulators and shareholders.